Anti‐stress activity of sitoindosides VII and VIII, new acylsterylglucosides from Withania somnifera

Abstract

Two new acylsterylglucosides, sitoindoside VII and sitoindoside VIII, were isolated from the roots of Withania somnifera Dun., and were screened for putative anti‐stress activity because the plant is widely regarded as the ‘Indian Ginseng’ by practitioners of the traditional Indian system of medicine. Since an acceptable paradigm of pharmacological tests for anti‐stress screening has yet to be evolved, a battery of tests were employed to delineate the activity of the test compounds. The total MeOH‐H2O (1:1) extractives of the roots of W. somnifera (SG‐1) and equimolecular combination of sitoindosides VII, VIII and withaferin‐A, a common withanolide, (SG‐2), exhibited significant anti‐stress activity in all the test parameters used. The two sitoindosides also produced per se anti‐stress activity, which was potentiated by withaferin‐A. A preliminary acute toxicity study indicated that the compounds have a low order of acute toxicity. The anti‐stress activity of SG‐1 and SG‐2 is consonant with the therapeutic use of W. somnifera in the Ayurveda, the Indian system of medicine. Copyright © 1987 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.